Ex-Felons Should Be Abolished Essay
Many have heard the saying “if you do the crime, you must do the time”. This saying signifies that if one acts upon a certain action, he/she must live with the consequences of their actions. For the most part, prison is a consequence for offenders. However, ex-offenders are still suffering the consequences of their actions even after doing “the time”. Certain ex-felons upon release from prison have their voting rights taken away from them, depending on the state. Some may petition to get voting rights restored but many do not have the opportunity. Ex-felons spend years paying their debt to society only to come out and continue to be punished. Not being allowed to vote is not fair to the ex-felons, and their right should be restored.
The right …show more content…
The citizens’ opinions ranged between supporting and not supporting. The citizens’ opinions fell in-between those two. 9.9 percent thought felons should never lose their right to vote. 31.6 percent thought they should only lose the right while they are incarcerated. 5.0 percent thought felons should lose their right while on parole or probation. 35.2 percent thought the right to vote should be lost while incarcerated and on parole or probation. Overall, 81.7 percent of the respondents did not support the permanent elimination of voting rights. The respondents’ supported having felons voting rights restored at some point (Pinaire et al., 2002). When the authors asked the respondents why they wanted permanent or temporary voting restrictions, 32.7 percent said “felons have proven that they should not be treated as citizens” (Pinaire et al., 2002, 1541). The authors were surprised that 31.1 percent had chosen none of the above/other reason. Pinaire et al. (2002) believe there must have been some other reason the respondents wanted temporary or permanent voting restrictions. A little more than half strongly or somewhat agreed to have felons rights restored after completing their sentence. About 44.2 percent somewhat or strongly disagreed to the restoration of
The right …show more content…
The citizens’ opinions ranged between supporting and not supporting. The citizens’ opinions fell in-between those two. 9.9 percent thought felons should never lose their right to vote. 31.6 percent thought they should only lose the right while they are incarcerated. 5.0 percent thought felons should lose their right while on parole or probation. 35.2 percent thought the right to vote should be lost while incarcerated and on parole or probation. Overall, 81.7 percent of the respondents did not support the permanent elimination of voting rights. The respondents’ supported having felons voting rights restored at some point (Pinaire et al., 2002). When the authors asked the respondents why they wanted permanent or temporary voting restrictions, 32.7 percent said “felons have proven that they should not be treated as citizens” (Pinaire et al., 2002, 1541). The authors were surprised that 31.1 percent had chosen none of the above/other reason. Pinaire et al. (2002) believe there must have been some other reason the respondents wanted temporary or permanent voting restrictions. A little more than half strongly or somewhat agreed to have felons rights restored after completing their sentence. About 44.2 percent somewhat or strongly disagreed to the restoration of